After the Whistle | Why it's on Caleb Williams to 'take charge' as the Bears' QB
The Chicago Bears put up a stinker in Baltimore, falling 30-16 in a game where the offense never found its footing and the defense struggled to keep Ravens' back-up quarterback Tyler Huntley in check.
After the game, Bears head coach Ben Johnson didn't hold back.
He demanded more of his team.
What they're saying:
Johnson was strict.
He believed his team should have done better, especially on the right end of a four-game winning streak.
The Ravens had a good game plan. Johnson wanted to see more of a response from the Bears.
"Give Baltimore a lot of credit, they came out and they played a physical brand of football," Johnson said. "Truth be told, I expected a little bit more out of our squad to counter that."
A reason Johnson was so frustrated was how the mistakes kept piling up.
Case in point: The Bears had 11 penalties on Sunday. This was the Bears' third game of the season with at least 10 penalties. Even with as bad as the Bears were last season during a 10-game losing streak, they didn't have three games with at least 10 flags.
Johnson noted the penalties have been a point of emphasis for this team. Again, Johnson looked to his team of veteran players to correct that.
Johnson can instill schemes and oversee the defense as much as he wants. He made it clear the players on the roster need to be better in executing on the field, instead of harming the team.
"Us coaches, we've been pounding that drum now for a while and we haven't gotten the results we wanted," Johnson said. "It's on the leaders here on this team to get it right."
Kyler Gordon:
On Friday, the Bears ruled Kyler Gordon out for Sunday's game. On Saturday, the Bears placed Gordon on injured reserve, which will keep him out fro at least four weeks.
Gordon has only played two games this season after missing the first four games of the season with an injured hamstring. Now, Gordon is dealing with a groin issue that Johnson said he hopes can resolve itself quickly.
"We're hoping it's going to be of the short-term variety, so we should be able to get him back," Johnsons said. "It's another soft tissue injury that we're dealing with."
A short-term stint would be a boon for the Bears, especially as they're dealing with injuries to Dominique Robinson, Shemar Turner, Tyrique Stevenson and Gervon Dexter on defense now.
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